kenmosher
10-08-2008, 09:41 PM
Well, FINALLY got the GN fired today after sitting under cover for almost 5 years!
It's running again! Still needs valve lash adjusted, lots of cleaning and detailing and I need to put my 16" GNX wheels and tires on it (the ones on it are 20 years old!).
Anyway, pictures:
http://gallery.me.com/kendallmosher/100252
A little history (warning ... long ramblings ahead!):
Raced it last Fall of 1999 ... was a little disappointed, it had fallen into running just mid 11s and when I put it away at the end of the season I found the doghouse wasn't sealing right ... *DOH*
In the meantime, got recruited to help with an Internet start up and ended up moving to Colorado in 2000. GN made the trip behind the Suburban on the trailer. Didn't have time to fool with it much (working 14 hours a day and getting the family settled and such). The company made a nice splash, but just as we were getting some traction, the tech bubble burst and funding dried up ... SO ...
Mid 2001 the doors closed and I had a little time (while I took stock and decided what to do next). Pulled the doghouse and refaced the gasket area ... with my daughter's :quote: HELP :quote: She was fifteen at the time, and unbeknownst to me she dropped a washer down the intake when I wasn't looking (by accident). Buttoned the car up and fired it back up ... clink clink CLUNK CLUNK...
Ended up pulling the motor out to find the bent up washer (and lots of little dimples on the top of several pistons!) upon tear down. Took the engine down to a fellow Buick owner's shop here Ft. Collins for "freshening up". In the meantime, found some partners and started a consulting company and landed a couple big projects... which ended up consuming most of my time again. However, the shop took a real interest in my motor, so they did a bunch of head work and such while it was basically sitting there without me having any time for it.
In the intervening years, we started another business with automotive software (including TurboLink) and ended up getting acquired by MotoTron. Again, huge changes in my life and little time to mess with Buick. However, in our stint with MotoTron, we discovered a bunch of neat stuff (including the 60 lb injectors that were being used in an offshore Mercury racing program). To test the injectors, we put my motor back together and made several pulls ending up making 654 HP and over 700 ft lbs of torque on the engine dyno!
Ended up taking the motor home in 2005 when I finally had a little time again. In the meantime, MotoTron and Edge Products did some projects together and we decided that it'd be a good "bridge" if I went and did more stuff with Edge (instead of working with some of the industrial stuff that MotoTron was working on).
Time got short again due to many projects (including DashHawk). Then MSD bought Edge (and Superchips and Racepak) ... and our little "skunk works" shop ended up on the chopping block this summer. SO, I had time again, so started putting the GN back together. Off and on, I've spent time on putting it together (between working to secure another way to make a living ...) and FINALLY it fired today!
It's been a long strange trip, but I think it's almost ready to be enjoyed again!:woot:
It's running again! Still needs valve lash adjusted, lots of cleaning and detailing and I need to put my 16" GNX wheels and tires on it (the ones on it are 20 years old!).
Anyway, pictures:
http://gallery.me.com/kendallmosher/100252
A little history (warning ... long ramblings ahead!):
Raced it last Fall of 1999 ... was a little disappointed, it had fallen into running just mid 11s and when I put it away at the end of the season I found the doghouse wasn't sealing right ... *DOH*
In the meantime, got recruited to help with an Internet start up and ended up moving to Colorado in 2000. GN made the trip behind the Suburban on the trailer. Didn't have time to fool with it much (working 14 hours a day and getting the family settled and such). The company made a nice splash, but just as we were getting some traction, the tech bubble burst and funding dried up ... SO ...
Mid 2001 the doors closed and I had a little time (while I took stock and decided what to do next). Pulled the doghouse and refaced the gasket area ... with my daughter's :quote: HELP :quote: She was fifteen at the time, and unbeknownst to me she dropped a washer down the intake when I wasn't looking (by accident). Buttoned the car up and fired it back up ... clink clink CLUNK CLUNK...
Ended up pulling the motor out to find the bent up washer (and lots of little dimples on the top of several pistons!) upon tear down. Took the engine down to a fellow Buick owner's shop here Ft. Collins for "freshening up". In the meantime, found some partners and started a consulting company and landed a couple big projects... which ended up consuming most of my time again. However, the shop took a real interest in my motor, so they did a bunch of head work and such while it was basically sitting there without me having any time for it.
In the intervening years, we started another business with automotive software (including TurboLink) and ended up getting acquired by MotoTron. Again, huge changes in my life and little time to mess with Buick. However, in our stint with MotoTron, we discovered a bunch of neat stuff (including the 60 lb injectors that were being used in an offshore Mercury racing program). To test the injectors, we put my motor back together and made several pulls ending up making 654 HP and over 700 ft lbs of torque on the engine dyno!
Ended up taking the motor home in 2005 when I finally had a little time again. In the meantime, MotoTron and Edge Products did some projects together and we decided that it'd be a good "bridge" if I went and did more stuff with Edge (instead of working with some of the industrial stuff that MotoTron was working on).
Time got short again due to many projects (including DashHawk). Then MSD bought Edge (and Superchips and Racepak) ... and our little "skunk works" shop ended up on the chopping block this summer. SO, I had time again, so started putting the GN back together. Off and on, I've spent time on putting it together (between working to secure another way to make a living ...) and FINALLY it fired today!
It's been a long strange trip, but I think it's almost ready to be enjoyed again!:woot: